GILLIGAN Irene Gilligan

Irene will be fondly remembered as the tiny lady with the warm smile who made the many new residents who moved to Rowville in the 60s and 70s feel welcome in their new surroundings. I personally lost track of the number of other new residents she introduced me to when I made my daily visit to her shop to pick up the milk, bread and papers.

The following is the eulogy prepared and read at Irene's funeral service by Des Jackson, husband of Irene's niece, Marie.

The eulogy has been edited because of space restrictions.

Bryan Power

Irene Gilligan

I have been honoured by the family of Irene Gilligan to speak of her life, of her achievements and of the everlasting impressions that she made on us.

I first met Aunty Rene in 1956 when I visited Rowville with Marie, my fiancé, who was Aunty Rene's niece and godchild. My first impressions of her are as clear today as they were then. She came across to me as a vibrant, energetic and capable soul who was everything that I had heard about her as my future wife's favourite aunt.

Irene Gilligan was born in Sunbury, the eldest daughter of David and Louise Finn. She was one of four girls and one boy in the family and grew up in Sunbury, Ararat, Ballarat and other places to which her father's position as a psychiatric nurse took them.

Later returning to Sunbury she met her future husband Bon whom she married in 1935 after a five-year courtship. They lived in Moonee Ponds where Laurie, Irene and Raymond were born.

As a child Ray suffered from bronchitis and the family doctor advised that they move to the country for his health. So they moved to Rowville in 1951. Can you imagine Rowville as the country? Well, I can assure you it was, as it was still totally rural in 1956 when I first visited the place. In those earlier years Rowville had no electricity, no sewerage and no made roads or kerbing and guttering, no telephone or public transport. The family lived in a small house on the banks of a creek which welcomed them to the area by flooding them two weeks after they moved in.

From that point on, that is, the move to Rowville, I think one could point to the achievements of the Gilligan family as the great Australian success story where innovation, hard work, long hours, dedication, customer relations and friendly service allied to quality products are called for.

From humble beginnings - a table on the roadside, later a tin shed, and ultimately a bright modern shop - a vibrant, successful business venture developed and matured. The move into the shop brought another innovatory phase to the Gilligan business. Long before the advent of McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hungry Jack's and the like, Irene Gilligan started the rotisserie roast chicken craze with the first rotisserie installation in Victoria. This was the forerunner of the take-away industry as we know it now. Imagine, a shop in the middle of virtually nowhere, a huge capital investment in the necessary apparatus, reliant largely upon passing trade, word of mouth and their quality product. But, above all, she had faith in her ability and her determination. Another dimension was added to the Gilligan name with the introduction of home made cakes, pastries and apple pies.

In the 60s Rowville started to stir with the first beginnings of fledgling growth, although the shop was still some distance away from the first slow moving residential development. As a measure of her, by that time, considerable standing in the community, she was appointed Postmistress at Rowville, a position she occupied for many years operating the Post Office Agency in conjunction with the shop which was now turning to a self-service operation, again another trail-blazing innovation for a small business. Irene was very highly regarded by Australia Post for her exemplary operation of the Post Office, her immaculate records, her attention to detail and her friendly, personalised service.

During her many years in the business she always seemed to me to have an inexhaustible supply of energy. Regular 16 hour days, 7 days a week, 365 days a year did not seem to affect her in any way. She was a pocket-sized dynamo; there was not much of her, but she was pure spring steel in her endurance and stamina.

After retirement from the shop her boundless energy manifested itself in many other ways and pursuits. She was the type of person who could not be idle at any time. The family history became her passion and each eldest member in the particular branch of the family received a beautifully bound copy which was painstakingly researched to the very minutest detail.

Following on from that task she took on hand painting of statues produced by her son Raymond. This task required infinite patience, a steady hand, good eye, attention to detail and good colour sense. This she accomplished, mind you, when she was well into her 70s. Not satisfied with that endeavour, she also attended various markets in the south-eastern area of Melbourne selling the finished products.

Uncle Bon was not in good health and her devotion to him was apparent in the loving care with which she tended to him up until the time of his passing some five years ago. Her sister had moved to America with her serviceman husband after the war and following her untimely early death and with the passing of the years, contact had been lost with her three nephews and nieces in America. Aunty Rene embarked on the task of locating and re-establishing contact with them and was absolutely delighted when it culminated in her niece Rene (named after her) visiting Australia in 1985 followed by her nephew Rick in 1988. The re-establishing of contact with her sister's children seemed to spark an urge in her and on her 80th birthday she did not ask my wife but told her, 'I have chosen you to take me to America'.

In October 1994, at the age of 80, she undertook the arduous twenty-hour flight. She was treated like royalty by her American family and her stories of their mother filled an enormous vacuum for them. She later said that her mission was now complete. After travelling around the south-western part of America, she decided that she wanted to stay a while longer and consequently travelled back to Australia on her own.

I last saw Auntie Rene three weeks ago when my wife and I visited her at Galilee where she spent her last days. We came away from there with a great sense of loss as I sensed that this was the last time that I would see her. I think she knew also as I will never forget the loving look that she gave me as I lifted her chin and kissed her goodbye.

I have spoken of Aunty Rene as I knew her. I knew her as a person who never had a bad word about anyone. She has left a void in our lives with her passing but she has left us with indelible and loving memories of her character, her spirit and her example of family values.

Des Jackson

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